Managing Occupational Health and Wellbeing Designing Healthier, More Sustainable Work

Workplace wellbeing cannot be created through motivational slogans, resilience courses and occasional wellbeing events while the work itself continues to make people unwell.

Managing Occupational Health and Wellbeing is an independent, practical handbook for managers, supervisors, operational leaders, HR professionals and anyone responsible for protecting health and supporting people at work.

Written by Robert Porter, an experienced operational leader from UK rail, transport and safety-critical service environments, the book examines occupational health from a management and operational perspective. It focuses on the conditions leaders can influence: workload, staffing, fatigue, exposure, job design, workplace relationships, early intervention and dignified support.

The guide explains:

The difference between health, wellbeing and occupational health

The manager’s role and professional boundaries

Employer responsibilities for health risks

Controlling exposure before monitoring workers

Sustainable work design

Workload, capacity and recovery

Employee influence and control

Practical and managerial support

Work-related stress

HSE’s six stress Management Standards

Demands, control, support, relationships, role and change

Recognising signs without attempting diagnosis

Stress-risk assessment

Mental-health conversations

Confidentiality and sensitive health information

Responding to immediate mental-health concerns

Fatigue and shift-work risks

Musculoskeletal disorders

Noise-induced hearing damage

Hand-arm and whole-body vibration

Skin and respiratory conditions

Display-screen and workstation health

Health surveillance

Selecting competent occupational-health providers

Acting upon surveillance findings

Health records and confidential medical records

Reasonable adjustments

Neurodiversity and accessible work design

Keeping in touch during sickness absence

Supported and phased return to work

Long-term capability and fair procedure

Financial wellbeing

Domestic-abuse support

Menopause and other health transitions

Remote and hybrid working

Psychological safety

Occupational-health and wellbeing indicators

Original graphics explain HSE’s six areas of work design, the health-surveillance prevention cycle and the supported return-to-work process.

Workplace scenarios demonstrate how managers can respond when a previously high-performing employee becomes withdrawn, or when several workers develop similar exposure-related symptoms. Knowledge checks and a 30-day management action plan help readers turn learning into observable workplace improvements.

The book distinguishes clearly between occupational-health risk control, health surveillance, clinical advice, wellbeing promotion and employment management. It explains why managers should notice, listen, act and refer—but must not diagnose medical conditions or demand unnecessary clinical information.

Managing Occupational Health and Wellbeing argues that healthy work must be designed. Individual support remains important, but it cannot compensate for chronic understaffing, excessive workload, harmful exposure, poor management or an operating model that depends upon continual personal sacrifice.

This publication uses Harvard referencing and draws upon current guidance from IOSH, the Health and Safety Executive and Acas. Robert Porter’s earlier Practical Safety Series books are referenced where they provide supporting guidance on risk assessment, management accountability, leadership, incident learning and workplace control.

This is an independent publication. It does not replace an IOSH-approved course, competent occupational-health support, medical care, current employment or equality advice, workplace risk assessments or an organisation’s controlled procedures.